Obama Victory Speech Transcript
Sen. Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois,after winning the race for the White House Tuesday night. The followingis an exact transcript of his speech.
Obama:
Hello, Chicago.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a placewhere all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of ourfounders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of ourdemocracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told bylines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nationhas never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, manyfor the first time in their lives, because they believed that this timemust be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat andRepublican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay,straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message tothe world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or acollection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so manyto be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to puttheir hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hopeof a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight,because of what we did on this date in this election at this definingmoment change has come to America.
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.
Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought evenlonger and harder for the country that he loves. He has enduredsacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We arebetter off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they'veachieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew thisnation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank mypartner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spokefor the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton androde with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect ofthe United States, Joe Biden.
And I would not be standing heretonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's nextfirst lady Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia I love you bothmore than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that'scoming with us to the new White House.
And while she's nolonger with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the familythat made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to themis beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all myother brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support thatyou've given me. I am grateful to them.
And to my campaignmanager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built thebest -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of theUnited States of America.
To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics youmade this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificedto get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't startwith much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched inthe halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines andthe living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It wasbuilt by working men and women who dug into what little savings theyhad to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.
It grew strengthfrom the young people who rejected the myth of their generation'sapathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offeredlittle pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from thenot-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat toknock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americanswho volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centurieslater a government of the people, by the people, and for the people hasnot perished from the Earth.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that liesahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges thattomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, aplanet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
Evenas we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking upin the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk theirlives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awakeafter the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgageor pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's collegeeducation.
There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not getthere in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never beenmore hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agreewith every decision or policy I make as president. And we know thegovernment can't solve every problem.
But I will always behonest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you,especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join inthe work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done inAmerica for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused handby calloused hand.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance forus to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the waythings were.
It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, whereeach of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not onlyourselves but each other.
Let us remember that, if thisfinancial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have athriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.
In thiscountry, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist thetemptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness andimmaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let'sremember that it was a man from this state who first carried the bannerof the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on thevalues of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party haswon a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility anddetermination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are notenemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must notbreak our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whosesupport I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but Ihear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, fromparliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in theforgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but ourdestiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.
To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you.To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all thosewho have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight weproved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not fromthe might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduringpower of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyieldinghope.
That's the true genius of America: that America canchange. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved givesus hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
Thiselection had many firsts and many stories that will be told forgenerations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who casther ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others whostood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for onething: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just ageneration past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road orplanes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons-- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her centuryin America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and theprogress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people whopressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a timewhen women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she livedto see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land,she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a newsense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell onour harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness ageneration rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, abridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "WeShall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.
And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen,and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the bestof times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is somuch more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our childrenshould live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so luckyto live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? Whatprogress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors ofopportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the causeof peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamentaltruth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope.And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell usthat we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums upthe spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
